His Queen From Two Worlds

CHAPTER 7: ONCE IN A LIFE TIME CONCERT

ESTOR:

“.…… This is just a suggestion, but it would be better to announce to the public that Lady Barclay will wake up in three months, Your Highness”, Eloise suggested in a respectful and official tone.

“This is a preventive measure for now, but surely people will keep asking about her condition. Most importantly, her fans,” The queen too shared her thoughts. “If we reveal her real condition, it will cause another uproar. The royal court would start disturbing the royal family. This would surely disturb the day-to-day routines in the palace, and we should be more thorough with choosing the servants until we find the instigator of all this.”

Raymond held his grandmother’s wrinkled hand and said, looking into her eyes, “Trust me, grandmother. I will handle everything. Please don’t worry too much”

The queen looked into his eyes and sighed, looking at their hands and patted his hand with her other hand, “Alright. But you cannot stop me from worrying about her, Raymond.”

“I know,” the prince said.

Raymond entered his room, closing the door behind him, and leaning on to it. He lifted his head, the front part of his neck stretched into the air as he went into his thoughts. He bent his head again and looked around his room.

The interior of his room was changed according to his wishes. It was just yesterday when he dragged her into the room in anger about hiding the accident. They were both sleeping together in the same being that he was seeing.

Looking around the room, the memories they had in this room were bringing him back to reality, and she went into a coma. His eyes started reddening, tears threatening to fall. He couldn’t afford to wallow. He needed to find the bastards who dared to attack his precious people and destroy them.

He shook his head and went into his modern-styled bathroom with black and gray tiles. He opened the shower cubicle glass door which had a big mirror arranged on the glass walls. He went and started taking off his clothes. His reflection in the mirror showed how messed up he was. His ash-blonde hair was tousled. His black button-down shirt was drenched. He was sure he might be smelling a little bit.

When he was about to throw away his black shirt, he remembered how Zelda’s blood was soaking into it. When he was holding her, he was carrying her.

He turned on the shower and the cold crystal-like water drops started falling on his body.

“.………… Thus, Her ladyship Zelda Barclay, my fiancée, went into a coma. The doctors reported that she would wake up in three months. I hope the people of our country hope and send their blessings on her recovery. Now you may ask your questions”

The flashes of the cameras, the light buzz of the electronic items, the lower chatter from the journalists because of the unexpected news, nothing was able to change the expression on his face. No. To change the expression on his face, there should be an expression on his face. His expression was blank. Making it difficult for people to guess what was going on in the future king’s mind.

Clad in formal pants, turtle neck jumper and a black coat he was standing on the stage, facing the major media outlets of the country with a blank expression. There is this emotional accessory he always wears every time he was feeling down. A diamond brooch connecting the eighth musical note and a king’s crown with three diamond chains. It might look insincere, but the fact that the royal family was announcing Lady Zelda’s condition instead of the Barclay family, already showed how invested the royal family was. There were also many people, especially the couple’s fans, who believed in the love of the couple that they had for each other. They knew why the prince was looking like that.

Seeing many journalists raising their hands, Ray randomly gestured to one of the journalists to ask his question. The man bowed after rising from his chair, then asked his question, “What is the reason behind this unfortunate incident, your highness?”

Fortunately, Ray was maintaining a blank expression on his face. They shouldn’t reveal to the public yet that it was an assassination. Ray nodded his head at the man before turning to the camera, “We are still investigating the issue. We will let the public know of any developments regarding this matter.”

The journalist bowed and went back to his place. After answering a few more questions, the prince concluded the press conference with the last sentence, “Lady Zelda Barclay, my fiancée, and your idol will recover soon, specialz. I hope your blessings and prayers reach her, and help her recover soon”

And with that sentence, the whole fandom of Zelda felt grateful for the prince noticing them. He knew they were worried about her, and it made them feel special.

The live stream was still continuing and the comments kept flooding as the crown prince walked down the stage.

“The crown prince looked so empty. Wahhhhhh he loves her so much. Wake up soon, Zelda. We love you!!”

“Please recover soon, Zelda! I will pray for you!”

“Yes, Prince! Find out which insolent person did this to her! And punish them, your highness!!!”

“Yes! We support you, Your Highness!”

The comments were on and on about the fans praying for Zelda’s wellness and of course, how the prince recognized his fiancée's fandom.

PAST:

After release of her third album and the initial marketing, Zelda announced her tour dates. The album was called ‘Love in the universe’.

In the past four years, she slowly gained international fame due to many reasons but majorly due to her status in music industry as a famed singer, song writer and producer. She was being recognized by many internationally famed artists and musicians for her talent. Her career graph was going upwards direction. Her fandom was increasing due to her musical popularity but also because of her noble status that people were intrigued about.

However, recently, her fame sky rocketed. Why? Because her relationship with his highness, the crown prince, Raymond De Renell was leaked to the public after releasing her new album. The whole world knows about her now. Even her being his playmate in childhood had come out. Thus, people obsessed with royal families were also paying attention to her now.

But this was not without some criticisms and negative opinions from people. Some people commented that her relationship was just a media play. Some people commented that she deliberately leaked the news to gain more attention. Nobles in her country were commenting how his highness could date her, a singer, if she was the one he would chose as his queen one day. It was so bad that she had to stay in the palace in the few weeks after the news came out.

Raymond stepped in. He selected the first picture they took together as a couple. It was a mirror selfie after they were ready to leave for a party where he took her as his date for the first time. Zelda stood to his right side holding her phone while the prince held her by her waist, kissing her hair, looking so in love. He posted it in all his social media accounts, tagging her, with a caption ‘Years later our love is still stronger.’

The news blew up again. Especially after her majesty, Queen Lilian, reposted it in her personal account and also from the royal family account that the public relationship team handles. All their close friends and families reposted too. The royal family of Estor gave a strong answer to the public. Zelda was officially protected by them. They love and care for her. They accepted her as the potential future queen of the country.

Before the tour started, Zelda attended an evening show. To curb the public’s interest in them, they decided to give some details about their relationship. She was asked many questions about her relationship with him. How they met? How it all started and his support in her career. One answer that highlighted in the whole interview was,

“He’s the driving force behind my success. Not in a materialistic way like some people are accusing me of but in a way more than the material world could describe him. I have known him for years now and never once he discouraged me from doing something I love. When I decided to move into modern music from classic. When I decided to become a singer. The instances are endless.

Throughout my life so far, he’s been my rock. And he always made sure that I know that he has no intention being otherwise. This unbreakable trust in me is the foundation of our relationship. He is always there for my every late-night session, every frustrated cry, every stage meltdown. He trusts me more than I do myself and that’s all I need in my life and I’ll always be grateful for that”

After this interview, she started her tour. And the interview? It went viral. Estor public wondered if their highness was really as her ladyship Barclay described him. Oh! He proved her right. After the first day of her concert in Estor he was waiting for her with a big bouquet of red roses from their garden in the palace that reminded her of him, her home. How could the fans and media afford to miss such moment when she jumped into his arms after seeing him? His arms around her waist, him smiling softly and kissing her temple since she wasn’t willing to let go of him.

And so, for the rest of the ‘Love in the Universe tour’, he kept surprising her and the public every now and then. And every time, she reacted the same way the first time she saw him at her first show of her tour.

Soon, it would be a year since their relationship would have come out in the public. And her tour was about to end with tonight’s show. To support her, all of Ray’s and her family was there. Including Ray’s Uncle and aunt Duke and Duchess of Campbell along with their children. To say she was not anxious would be a lie.

The show would start in a few minutes. She needed to be out in five. But here she was, all set and ready with her custom-made red mic, lying on her dresser.

“What are you thinking about?” his voice brought her back to the present.

She saw him standing behind her chair through the huge mirror. She immediately got up, turned around to meet his deep electric blue eyes.

“Ray!” she stepped towards him, stopping herself at an intimate distance. She didn’t want to hug him because she couldn’t risk to mess her opening act outfit. She noticed he was wearing that particular diamond brooch which had an eighth musical note and king’s crown joined by three diamond chains. She noticed the red pocket square matching the red hue of her outfits.

“Where are you lost thoughts?” he asked again, cupping her face gently, his eyes gazing every inch of her face, memorizing every detail.

“I’m fine” he could see her hesitation in her emerald green eyes as her shook otherwise. Despite, knowing he could say that she was lying, she decided to lie. He understood she doesn’t want to admit and be nervous about it.

“Hm” he pulled her closer, softly pecking her forehead before he moved back. “Don’t think about us. Only think about your fans enjoying the show. You won’t mess up and even if you do, you have me as always to clean up”

That brought a genuine laugh from the nervous singer after the entire evening. His highness smiled too.

“It is tempting to mess up now ” she said as the crown prince helplessly shook his head at her adorable ideas.

“Try not to do it, Love. I suppose sending Francis to overwork just after rushing here from his work would be a bad idea” Raymond smiled mentioning his elder cousin, who was his right-hand man.

“I promise” she said in between her laughs, her worried energy leaving her slowly.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The concert was running with high energy. Near the end of her opening act, she welcomed everyone and thanked the royal family for coming to support her. Every now and then, the cameramen pointed at the VIP box. The royal family didn’t disappoint either. Her Majesty Queen Lilian, her daughter, Duchess of Campbell, Cordelia Campbell, her husband Evrin Campbell, the duchy heirs Francis and Shawn Campbell, were all seen enjoying the concert, waving their hands, singing along to some of the lyrics. They have also noticed them wearing at least one red piece of clothing or accessory: LED wristbands. Slowly, the world was realizing. Those repost in the royal accounts were not a show. They truly care about Zelda and keep her in high regards.

Zelda, after talking with Ray, decided to ignore her nervousness and give her best for the final day of her ‘Love in the universe’ tour. She interacted with some fans while singing. Genuinely had fun with her backup vocalists and dancers. She made some witty comments and jokes in between the acts, and after every performance, she kept looking at the VIP box. Everyone knew who she was looking for and teased her cheering extra loud every time she looked there. With her red cheeks, she called them out for teasing her but they continued it the whole time.

After the final performance, with the ending pose, things didn’t continue in the way that it should have. Instead, Zelda turned around, curtsying her background dancers and backup vocalists and thanking them. They bowed in return before hurrying back stage. Once everything was clear on stage, the singer stood in the middle of the stage. A spot light shone on her as she lowered her mic.

Suddenly, a square opened up in front of her with a white mic stand and another square opened up behind her with a white chair. Both the mic stand and chair were decorated with green vines and tiny red roses which had red glitter, the spotlight highlighting the shine.

“Pheewww…….” She softly whistled when she noticed how the crowd got really quiet. “You all became really quite”, her emerald eyes twinkled, “Should I be worried?”

That earned laughs and chuckles from the fans as they once again started cheering for her. Zelda laughed along with them.

“Isn’t this how a mother gets worried when there is silence in the hall with her children around?”

The crowd erupted into laughter again, as the cameraman panned the camera to the VIP box where her majesty and Princess Cordelia were laughing holding hands, relating to the joke as mothers.

“THAT’S WHY WE CALL YOU MOTHER!!!!!!!” a fan yelled out, which caused the whole stadium to explode into another round of laughter.

Zelda knew her fans were hilarious. From the start of her career, she had a teasing relationship with them. And they will never miss a chance to tease her whether she’s on stage, on the red carpet, in interviews or accepting an award.

She threw herself on the chair, laughing and covering her face. The crowd laughed even more. The camera continued pointing at the VIP box, and people from far could see the crown prince shaking his head helplessly while his cousins were still cracking up.

“Funny……” she paused to take a breath, looking at the fans with that smile on her face, “You all, shame on you. Let’s take note of our faces. Can’t you guys see who’s here?”

Another round of cheers. A female staff member came on to the main stage from backstage with Zelda’s personal red guitar in her hands. The red guitar had all hues of red with red roses painted all over it. Only people from her personal life know that this was her favorite guitar because this was her thirteenth birthday gift from his highness. This guitar has a significant status and feelings in her heart because this guitar was the material proof that Raymond understood her way more than anyone. Since the start of her career, she only used this guitar for special performances.

“Thank you!” Zelda smiled at the female staff. “Everyone! Thank my staff!!!” she said in the mic after the staff was done setting up her stand and guitar.

“THANK YOU!” The female staff member immediately got flustered, joining her hands and confused between bowing and waving her hands. The crowd laughed knowing Zelda did this to tease her staff. The woman ran off the stage.

“See guys, how grateful I am” laughter continued.

“Ahem!” Zelda glided her pick across the steel strings of her guitar, finally gaining the attention of the fans again.

“Although I promised a certain prince” the crowd cheered at the mention of the crown prince for the first after the whole show, “to not mess around but, I didn’t promise to not mess with people.”

The camera panned to the crown prince. From far, it was hard to see his expressions clearly but people can see his helpless smile, his wrist glowing red in color because of the LED bracelet.

“Sorry, not sorry” the crowd gasped, slowly understanding the state of their relationship. Only she would dare to look at the crown prince and say that.

“In my defense, I planned this way before, okay?” she explained to the public which received continuous laughter from them. “So, not sorry, Ray”

The crowd continued laughing before the laughter slowly died down since the performance would start soon. The spotlight on her mixed a bit of red hue, matching her hair. Silence returned. She waited for the signal from her in-ear.

From some reason, that nervous energy from before returned. She got the signal and her fingers moved.